A Special Gift From L’Occitane

Mother’s Day, a day of relaxation breakfast in bed and bunches of daffodils… Yer right!

Ok, I’m pretty such the kids have made me some lovely homemade gifts and cards which I prefer! As for the whole relaxation thing… Well… An almost teenage boy with Aspergers Syndrome, a daughter who is fast forming a bit of a chip on her shoulder and an ever demanding toddler, I can most certainly forget that!

As it happens we are actually off to my nieces and nephews Christening this morning, so breakfast in bed is gonna have to wait anyway!

I do love being a Mother! Life Is always full of little surprises and I can’t honestly remember the last time I felt the need to complain that I was bored!

The memories built with my children are all so precious, whether its memories of our first family holiday or the day in which each one of them arrived in the world.

Yesterday I was sent a lovely little gift from L’Occitane & The Millennium Hotel. Their intention being, to make my Mothers Day that bit more specia.The gift, a beautiful little boxed set that contained, 30 ml of Shea Butter Hand Cream, 30 ml of Rose Autore Hand Cream & 30 ml of Spring Cherry Hand Cream. All delicately scented and beautifully presented making them the perfect little treat for hands.

Earlier in the week the Millennium Hotel had asked me a few questions that I was more than happy to answer, like what’s my most memorable holiday? To which my answer was… Its hard to choose just one whether it be the all inclusive packaged holiday to the Caribbean or the week spent at the Lake District, each one was special in its own little way.

As for family holidays, we had an awesome trip to Oxfordshire a few years back! We were attending the fabulous Wilderness festival, camping in a tent for the weekend. This mini break has to be one of my most memorable. I’d never done the whole outdoors thing, but the kids loved it. There was plenty to do at the festival and if the kids were not enjoying a sessions hola hooping we’d be swimming in the beautiful natural lake that runs through the woodland.

I’ve actually never stayed in a Millennium hotel but looking at the London hotels on their website I would defiantly consider both the Mayfair and Knightsbridge hotels. Both are in great locations and seem to offer luxurious facilities. I like it when a hotel goes the extra mile by providing its guest with those special little extras to make their stay more comfortable. I’d be extremely pleased to find L’Occitane products in my hotel bathroom and the Millennium Hotels offer just that. Having read some rave reviews on the Millennium Knightsbridge Hotel it would seem L’Occitane and the Millennium form the perfect partnership.

Well, thanks to both the Millennium Hotel and L’Occitane for the beautiful gift. Maybe next year I’ll be in one of your London hotels enjoying a L’Occitane bubble bath for Mother’s Day.

Must dash… A christening awaits.

Happy Mother’s Day everyone.

No Financial payment was made for writing this post. I did receive the L’Occitane gift free of charge for the purpose of this review. Nonetheless I was under no obligation to write about it. All opinions are honest and that of my own.

A Look Back On 2012 Festival Fashion

Anyone who knows me will know I’m passionate about festivals. Whether local or further a field, I’ll be their if I can.

This year I visited a handful of festivals and if expenses would have allowed it, I would have quite happily visited more.

It’s not just the music side of a festival that draws me to it, there are so many more elements that combine, make a festival worth experiencing. This year for me the Wilderness Festival in Oxfordshire’s Cornbury Park was the perfect example of this and was therefore one of my summer highlights. You can read my recent Wilderness Festival review over on my other site HERE

Festivals are a great way to unwind and set yourself free from the stresses that are part of everyday life. It’s also a great way to express your inner boohoo chick.

The Wilderness Festival in particular, was a vintage catwalk this year. As I sat in front of my tent absorbing the summers rays, the path that lead from the campsite to the main festival gate acted as a runway to some pretty well dressed festival folk. I had front row tickets so enjoyed a bit of style spotting.

So, here’s a quick style roundup of what was 2012 key festival looks.

Floor Sweeping Maxi Dress: Ok, I know the maxi dress has always been a much loved festival trend but this year there were some spectacular floor sweeping Maxi dresses on the festival scene. These were easily dressed from day to night with the addition of one or two accessories. I love the Aztec Paige Mish Mash Artec Print Maxi Dress from Boohoo.com at just £20

Photo from Boohoo

Hunter Wellie’s: This year Hunter had some stylish Wellies working their way round the festival circuit… The Hunter team even had a style den at the Wilderness. We all know that Hunter Wellies don’t offer the cheapest price tag, however, as the festival season begins to slow… Now’s the time to check eBay and snap yourself up a bargain! You can find Hunter Boots online by Clicking Here

Denim Cut Off- When it came to cut offs, For many it was the shorter the better. I spotted everything from shop brought cut off, to those do it yourself types. Vintage customised pairs of Levis and Wanglers were everywhere. Yet no two pairs were the same as each customised cut off displayed its own unique stamp. I love this pastel pink pair below, just £22 from the high street store TOPSHOP

Image: TOPSHOP

Sparkly Sequinned Leggings: Bling could be seen sparkling all over the place! There were super sequinned scarves, bags, waistcoats and more. However, it was the Sequinned Legging that truly rocked it this year. I saw these worn on women, children and even men. I’m actually surprised how little of a mention the sequinned legging has received in other popular festival style guides. These were worn during the day and could be seen twinkling in the the sun rays, while at night these rocked when paired with some awesome accessories. I checked these out online and I kept being directed back to the same site “Rosa Bloom” who does the most stunning clothing and accessories. Her Leggings have been so popular this season that she’s still completely sold out on these my favourite pair.

photo Rosa Bloom

Flowers: A classic festival trend is the floral hippy chick look. Whether its a vintage floral playsuit, floor sweeping maxi, or a headdress, flowers are a key trend for the boohoo loving festival babe. It’s also a pretty look for the little ones. Girls look pretty in floral dresses, headbands and sandals, while the little boys look great in a floral shirt. Below is a picture of my daughter sporting a flower headdress.

Festival Tails: Yes… I do mean tails, cute animal tails that attach to your clothing.This wasn’t a festival trend just for the ladies, but it was most definitely one for the guys (both big and small) I really can’t decide who they looked cuter on. Even the tiniest festival goer wore a festival tail and some even matched them with ears. It took me a while to uncover an online site that dedicates itself to the selling of festival tails! Given I’m very persistent, I eventually discovered festivaltails.com I know what your thinking! With a name like that, how could it possibly be hard to find? I assure you… It really was.

image: Festival Tails

Vintage lace: Pretty lace embellishments to full lace dresses and skirts.This was a pretty girly festival look this 2012. The beautiful piece below is from the wonderful Fashion Bible

Image: Fashion Bible

Doctor Martians: The more funky the better. I loved the bright pink Docs and the super floral designs.These look fantastic with denim cut offs and leggings, but also give playsuits and short floaty dress a great funky edge.

Image: DR Martians

Palazzo trousers: Sometimes referred to the pyjama bottom, palazzo pants were a chic festival must have. One of my favourite summer styles, I’ve shamefully acquired a least 5 pairs (I swear I’ll kick the shopping addiction next week). These can be brought in various designs and patterns but one must be careful not to end up looking like they are out in PJs. Pattern Palazzo’s teamed with a simple vest top or plain tee looked best. House of Fraser currently have some plain black ones with a massive reduction attached. The pair below are currently on sale for £35 (reduced from £120).

Image: House of Fraser

Harem Pants: This year the boohoo, hippy look was easy to achieve. The cropped leg extra baggy Harem pants were everywhere! I love the look and If we were a country who experienced all year round sunshine, I do worry I may just end up living in these extremely comfortable pants. These come in all sorts of style, whether patterned or plain these baggy pants remain super sexy.These Harem pants from Bang on Trend are exactly that and for the fab prize of £6.99

Ray bands: Lots of festival goers were sporting retro style Ray bands in block bold colours or funky rare prints.Those who couldn’t bear to part with their hard earned penny’s for expensive sunnies, still sported some pretty awesome look-alike’s. I love the glasses below with their really funky print. You can grab these online from the Ray Ban online UK store

Image: Ray Ban

Woven Jewellery: Dangly earrings were a must. Statement woven designs made a big statement in a indie chic kinda way. Below are a beautiful handmade pair of woven earrings I purchased from eBay.

My eBay buy

Hats: Both Trilby and floppy sun hats were big winners on the festival scene this year! Quite a number of these were also customised with its owners unique stamp. Check out the stunning red sequin Trilby from Amazon

Image: Amazon

Parka: This festival favourite is still high up there on the festival trend list. If you haven’t got a parka don’t wear a coat at all! I love this multi tone parka from ASOS

Image: ASOS

This years key prints seemed to be Ethnic, Aztec, African tribal and Retro style prints!

Another big trend was and still is skull inspired designs. Whether this is worn as a print on a t-shirt, bag, jacket or even a key feature of an accessory, such as necklaces, bracelets or belt buckles, this funky trend looks awesome. For me the best of the best can be found over at Spoiled Brat! I’ve not long discovered this online store but already I love it! Checkout the stunning necklace and T-shirt below.

Photo: Spoiled Brat

This is not a review post and I haven’t received any payment or review items for writing this post.

A few camping essentials

This year I attended a number of festivals and enjoyed camping at the Wilderness in Oxfordshire.

It was during this trip that I tested a few essentials given to me by a lovely PR I know through twitter.

One of the items I testing was of the alcoholic type. Only the “No Glass Bottle Rule” put a spanner in the works! I wasn’t about to give up the alcohol, the security already had a table full and I’m guessing there was no plan to bin them. I’m a girl who drinks only once in a blue moon. My drink of choice is normally white wine and I certainly don’t drink beer! So, as these drinks were bottles of Chang beer you can be forgiven for wondering why I was even bothered?

My friend and fellow festival goer was looking forward to a chilled bottle of chang and the few others we had, we had planed to delight some fellow campers with a bottle. As I insisted my friend didn’t crack one open before we’d even arrived at destination Wilderness, she was now looking none to impressed at the prospect of me handing them over. With this, the decision was made… We’d plot on the grass outside and try them out before entering the campsite (after all the sun was shining and it was one hell of a beautiful day)! Well, it didn’t take long for a few festival goers to become interested in the offer of a few free bottles of beer. We sat on the grass with our new found friends (that we technically paid to endure our company) and with the exception of myself and my lemonade, everyone else enjoyed a bottle of Chang.

Chang is a beer produced in Thailand. It’s 5% in vol and available in 330ml bottles. The beer put a smile on every bodies face (with the exception of the unimpressed security) so I’m sure it was pretty good and worth a try.

It’s worth noting that Chang is a very light and refreshing beer. My friend Donna commented that in a strange way… It was a really famine beer, that could be drunk easily.

Another product we put through its paces was ‘Nakd’ a range of healthy snacks that came in the form of packed infused raisins and health food bars. These healthy treats come in some exciting flavours to delight all taste buds. Choose from flavours such as infused raisin, Crazy Cola and Tangy Lime in the raisins or a whole host of exciting flavours in the health bars.

‘Nakd‘ offer a great way to treat yourself to something sweet without the calories!

Of course I was totally up for testing something claiming to be both sweet yet calorie free. Yet, as always I was a tad suspicious of these common claims and suspected they may taste more rabbit food than anything else.

I was honestly surprised. The packaging is really vibrant and inviting, and although once opened the Health food bars reminded me of a squashed teard, they actually tasted rather yummy.

Nakd are great to take along with you to festivals or just long days out. They are handbag friendly and supply a great energy kick in a really healthy way. These gets a big thumbs up.

Last but by no means least, we have the e-cloth, an environmentally friendly cleaning brand who have recently developed their latest Barbecue Pack. It eliminates the need for chemical cleaning products as it needs nothing but water alone to clean effectively & efficiently – keeping your green conscious clean.

Well, given we would be camping in a very green place and I consider myself a green kinda girl… These were perfect. I didn’t just use the e-cloth to clean the barbecue but found them great for washing the plates (who want to go back home with smelly, dirty plates in their rucksack)? Admittedly we had a little trouble with our barbecue and one of these damp e-cloths did a good job to put out the fire! 😉 Not only are they environmentally friendly, but a life saver too.

These are currently reduced at Lakeland ( from £8.99 down to £2.99) why not get yours ready for next summers barbecue?

Disclaimer: This is a review post that I was NOT paid to write. I did receive samples of the above products in-order to write this review. All thoughts and words are my own.